2130. INF Missile Inspections/Verification by Weighing

Paper

Abstract

The On-Site Inspection Agency (OSIA) is a joint-service Department of Defense organization responsible for implementing inspection, escort, and monitoring requirements under the verification provisions of U.S. international arms control treaties. With headquarters located at Dulles Internatioanl Airport in Washington, D.C., the Agency has field offices at Travis Air Force Base, California; Magna, Utah; Yokota Air Base, Japan; Rhein-Main Air Base, Germany; Votkinsk, Russia; and the U.S. Embassy in Moscow. Approximately 700 men and women from the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Federal Civil Service are assigned to OSIA. OSIA was formed in January 1988 to implement the on-site inspection, escort, and continuous monitoring provisions of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Force (INF) Treaty between the United States and former Soviet Union. The motto of OSIA, ”trust, but verify,” was conveyed by former President Ronald Reagan to then Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev when they signed the INF Treaty on December 8, 1987. OSIA has subsequently been assigned similar inspection, escort, and monitoring responsibilities of other U.S. international arms control agreements. Since July 1991, OSIA has served as the executive agent for Defense Department support to the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) on Iraq. OSIA coordinates military services’ provision of facilities, supplies, equipment, personnel and other assistance to UNSCOM which is charged with overseeing the destruction of Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction. Most recently, OSIA has been assisting the Department of State in providing humanitarian aid to the peoples of the former Soviet Union as part of Operation Provide Hope. Since February 1992, OSIA teams have distributed more than 27,000 tons of food and medical supplies at 51 locations in the 12 republics of the former Soviet Union.